Name
Adopting Scrum in a Management Team with a Just-In-Time Learning Approach
Date & Time
Thursday, June 15, 2023, 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Erik de Bos
Description

It is ironic that often knowledge about Agile gets in the way of Agility. Knowledge gets people bogged down in the theory, and the uncertainty of where to start paralyses them. I had the opportunity to test this idea when I got invited to coach a management team with no experience in Agile. By giving the team the bare minimum to get started with Scrum, and then helping them to figure out their journey driven by the problems they encountered and the questions they asked as they understood more and more of the framework, the team picked up ideas more easily and with more eagerness than teams that receive a full training in advance.

This approach seems to lighten the cognitive load by creating a pull system for knowledge. In effect, we approach learning by the same principles of Scrum: we prioritise the work (in this case, the learnings) and then focus on each item sequentially. This allows the team to take ownership of each new piece of knowledge, and gradually over the complete framework. The team becomes the driver of change.

Additionally, this approach reveals a structure for Scrum Masters to better decide when to help a team, and when to let them struggle, based on the risks involved. On the one side, the struggle as an effective learning experience for the team. On the other side, the risk of a team struggling too long and ending up demotivated.

Location Name
Expo, 1st floor
Full Address
Pakhuis de Zwijger
Piet Heinkade 179
Amsterdam 1019 HC
Netherlands
Session Type
Experience Report
submissions_id
7750
Track Color
Green
Session Length
20
Keywords
sustainability
ownership
knowledge
wisdom
empowerment
experimentation
problem-solving
Learning Objectives
Organizational Sustainability
Track
Sustainability